Agincourt Part 49

"Ha! you must tell me more," said the second, in a tone of surprise; "from utter destruction, did you say? Let us to our chamber. There we can speak at ease."

Richard of Woodville heard no more; but what he did hear cast him into deep thought; and when the next morning they again set out upon their journey, he gazed with an inquiring eye at the Canonesses and their companions--and, mingling in their conversation, endeavoured to discover if the voices which he had heard were to be distinguished amongst them. They all laughed and talked gaily with him, however, in the French tongue; and he came to the conclusion, that though the host had a.s.sured him the inn was vacant when he and his party arrived, some other guests must have pa.s.sed the night within its walls.

On their way during this day, he remarked that the leader of the men-at-arms inquired often and anxiously, in every town and village, for news of the two armies. Little information did he gain, except from vague reports; but some of these, it would appear, induced him to alter his course towards Amiens, and strike off to the right, in the direction of Peronne. The young knight had not been inattentive to everything that was said, and he heard that the King of France, and all his n.o.bility, were certainly gathered together in the direction of Bapaume, while the rumour grew stronger and more strong, that the English army had effected the pa.s.sage of the Somme at some unguarded ford, in the neighbourhood of St. Quentin, and was boldly marching on towards Calais.

Such tidings, as the reader may well suppose, caused not a little agitation in the mind of the young soldier. Apprehension, lest a battle should be fought and he be absent, was certainly the predominant sensation; but, still he had to ask himself, even if he arrived in time, where arms were to be procured, and a horse fit to bear him through such a strife as that which was likely to take place?

The beast he rode, though swift and enduring, was far too lightly formed to carry a knight equipped according to the fashion of that day; and no weapons of any kind did he possess, but the dagger which he had retained when captured.

It seemed clear to him, also, that the leader of the Burgundian men-at-arms, had, in common with most of his countrymen, a strong inclination to take part with the French, who were naturally considered as kinsmen and allies, against the English, who were looked upon as strangers and enemies; and he felt convinced that the soldier's course had been altered in the hope, that, by falling in with the troops of the King of France, he might find a fair excuse for disobeying the more politic orders of his Prince, and take a share in the approaching combat.

Such thoughts brought with them some doubts of his own safety; and a.s.suredly the dull, taciturn, and repulsive demeanour of the commander of the troop, was not calculated to win confidence. It was evident, however, that orders--which he trusted would meet with some respect--had been laid upon his sullen companion, to treat him with deference, and attend to his comfort and convenience; for, at every place where they stopped by the way, the best chamber, after their fair charge had been attended to, was a.s.signed to himself; and it was not without permission that the men-at-arms sat down to the same table with him, affecting much to reverence his knightly rank.

At length, after a long and hard day's ride, the party reached Peronne, on the evening of the second day after quitting Breteuil; and as they approached the gates, the young knight's confidence was somewhat restored, by the leader of the men-at-arms riding up to his side, and saying, in a low tone, "I pray you, sir knight, be careful here, and give no hint of your being an Englishman; for we are coming on dangerous ground."

"I will be careful, my good friend," replied Richard of Woodville; "and to say the truth, if we can discover where the King of England is, it may be as well for me to quit your party soon, as I may bring danger upon you for no purpose."

"We shall soon near more," replied the soldier, "but you had better be beyond the walls of Peronne, before you part from us."

The scantiness of the band, and the t.i.tle of Burgundian soldiers, soon obtained admission for the little party; but all was found in a state of bustle and activity within the town; and every tongue was full of the late pa.s.sage of the King of England, at a short distance from the place. Great was the bravado of the inhabitants, who universally declared, that they wished he had sat down before their walls, to afford them an opportunity of showing what glorious deeds they would have performed; and all spoke of the condition of the English troops as lamentable, and their fate sealed. The approaching battle was looked forward to as a certain triumph for the arms of France, and rather as a great slaughter of a flying enemy, than a conflict with a powerful force. The very monks of the monastery where the men-at-arms received entertainment, while the Canonesses were lodged in the adjoining nunnery, were full of the same martial spirit; and a few years earlier, it is probable, their superior would have put himself in armour to aid in the destruction of the foe. Frequently was Richard of Woodville appealed to as a knight, to p.r.o.nounce upon the likelihood of King Henry surrendering at discretion; and some difficulty had he so to shape his answers as to escape suspicion.

From the conversation which took place, however, he learned that his own sovereign was in the neighbourhood of a small town at no great distance; and he resolved, as soon as he was free from the walls of Peronne, to hurry thither without any farther delay. He ventured, during the evening, to issue forth for a short time into the city, in the hope of being able to purchase arms: but scarcely any were to be found in the town: and such had been the demand for good armour, that the price had risen far beyond his scanty means. All that he could afford to buy was a strong, well-tempered sword of a somewhat antique form, which he found in the shop of an armourer; and even for that the price demanded was enormous.

Returning to the monastery, he soon escaped from a sort of conversation that was by no means pleasant to his ear, by retiring to rest; and though for some time he did not sleep, yet when slumber did visit his eyelids, she came soft and balmy. The troubled thoughts died away--the anxious questioning of the unsatisfied mind ceased--the wild throbbing of the eager heart for the coming of the undeveloped hours, found repose; and he woke calm and refreshed with the first dawn of day, to meet whatever might be in store, with a spirit prepared and ready, and a body reinvigorated by the alternation of exertion and rest.

The monastery was one of those, not at all uncommon in those days, in which the vow of seclusion did not by any means exclude contrivances for enjoying at least some communion with the world. It was not surrounded by stern walls, and a large wing of the building rested upon the street, with windows small and high up indeed, and only lighting the chambers appropriated to the use of visitors, but which often afforded the monks themselves an excellent view of what was pa.s.sing in the town without. In dressing himself with as much care as circ.u.mstances would permit, Richard of Woodville approached one of these narrow cas.e.m.e.nts, and gazed out upon the gay scene that was enacted below; and, though so early, mult.i.tudes of people were to be seen pa.s.sing along. While some stood for a moment gossiping with their neighbours, some were hurrying forward to their busy day, and others pausing to watch a considerable body of men-at-arms, who, in somewhat bad array, and without the display of much soldier-like order, came down from a house farther up.

When he saw them at a distance, the young knight's first thought was, "If all the French troops are like these, it will be no very difficult task to win a field of them." But as the troop came on, and the three leaders riding in front, pa.s.sed under the window, he was struck by the arms of one of them who appeared in the middle. He could have sworn that the armour in which the knight was habited was familiar to his eye; and it must be recollected that the ornaments which covered the harness of a man-at-arms in those days were rarely the same, so that means of identification were always at hand, such as we do not possess in the present times. But there, before his eyes, if he could believe their testimony, was the identical suit which had been sent to him by good Sir Philip Beauchamp, shortly before he left the sh.o.r.es of England. There were the fan-shaped palettes, with the quaint gilt figures in the corners, and the upturned pauldrons with the edge of gold, and the bacinet shaped like a globe, with the enamelled plate on the forehead bearing "Ave, Maria!"

There could be no doubt that it was the same; and Woodville's brow knit for a moment, and his teeth closed tight. But the next instant he smiled again, asking half aloud, "How could a prisoner of near two years escape pillage? If I meet you in the field, my friend, I will have that harness back again for Mary's sake, or I will lie low."

Thus saying, he resumed his toilet, and the troop pa.s.sed on. A moment after, he heard a voice singing, and turning to the window again he looked out. The sounds did not come from below; but there was a large projecting ma.s.s of building, with loopholes on the three sides, which protruded into the street on his right; and it seemed to him that the sounds came thence. He listened, and caught some of the words; but every now and then they died away in the cadence of a wild French air of the period, but those he could distinguish seemed so well suited to his situation at the time, that he strove eagerly to hear more:--

"Away, away, to the field of fame, Gallant knight, gallant knight, hie away,"

were the first sounds he could make out; but the next stanza was more distinct, and went on thus, in the French tongue:--

"Think of thy lady at home in her bower, On her knees, for her lord to pray, Think of her terror and hope in the hour When your banner floats proud in array, Well aday!

"Away, away, to the field of fame, Gallant knight, gallant knight, hie away!

For King, for country, and deathless name Is each stroke that is stricken to-day, Trara la, trara la, trara lay!

"The hopes of years and the fame of life Are lost or won ere evening's ray.

Thy father's spirit looks down on the strife, And bids thee to battle away, Well aday!

"Away, away, to the field of fame, Gallant knight, gallant knight, hie way!

For king, for country, and deathless name Is each stroke that is stricken to-day, Trara la, trara la, trara lay!"

As he was listening for more, a knock was heard at the door of his chamber, and bidding the applicant come in, Richard of Woodville was somewhat surprised to see the personage whom we have designated as the clerk's man, enter in some haste.

"I thought you were still sleeping, sir knight," he said; "but I ventured to wake you, as, by Heaven's good will, it seems there will be a battle shortly, and methought you would like to hear such tidings, and be present at such a deed."

"I have heard that such is likely to be the case," answered Woodville, "and am eager enough to set out, my friend. But how came you here? and where have you left your master?"

"Oh, I have followed you close," the man replied; "I only waited to see that the enemy's hounds had not got scent of the deer; but the slot has been crossed by so many other herds, that they soon lost the track. I have wakened master Isambert, who leads the Duke's party, and he will be in the saddle in half an hour. As to my master, he has gone by the other road, and I dare to say has joined Sir John at Brettenville, or Beauvillers, or where they pa.s.sed the Somme."

"Is this Isambert very faithful, think you?" asked the young knight.

"Not too much so," replied the man, calmly; "but in your case he dare as soon give his throat to the knife, as do you wrong; for the Duke, and the Count, and the Lord of Croy, would all have b.l.o.o.d.y vengeance, if aught of evil befel you ere you are with your own people. However, it will not be amiss to quit him soon; for I find a body of his own folks have just marched out under Robinet de Bournonville--as wild a marauder as ever a wild land brought forth; and it is well to get out of such company when they are too many; for what one man dare not do, a number think nothing of."

"Then," said the young knight, "this good Isambert's arrival at Triel was not a matter of chance, as I thought it?"

"Oh, no!" replied the other; "he came thither on purpose to give you aid. He might have saved fifteen leagues by another road; but the Duke's commands were not to be disobeyed. However, n.o.ble knight, you had better get some breakfast; for Heaven only knows when we shall have an opportunity of putting anything into our mouths again. You might as well follow a flight of locusts, they tell me, as our army.

The refectioner is serving out meat to the men, and mead, too, for we have quitted the land of wine."

The young knight bade him go and provide for himself; and, soon following, he took a hasty meal before he mounted with the rest. The whole party were speedily in the saddle; the streets of the town were soon pa.s.sed, and the gates of Peronne closed behind them.

CHAPTER XL.

THE MYSTERY.

It is quite right and proper to suppose that the reader is thoroughly acquainted with the position, situation, and peculiarities of every town, to which we may be pleased to lead him; and, therefore, it may be unnecessary to remind him, that Peronne is surrounded by marshy ground, which soon gives way to a hilly country, which, at the time I speak of, was of a very wild and desolate character. The party of Burgundian horse, with Richard of Woodville and the fair Canonesses, rode on through this track towards Arras, at the same quick pace as during the preceding part of their journey; and even the ladies themselves were glad to keep their mules at a rapid amble; for the weather had undergone a sudden change, and a foul north-easterly wind was blowing sharp, cutting them to the marrow. The troop was now increased by the presence of the clerk's servant; and with him, as they went, the young English gentleman held more than one consultation, which resulted in Woodville adopting the resolution of quitting the escort, shortly after pa.s.sing the Abbey of Arrouaise, where it was proposed that they should stop to dine.

The whole party, however, were destined to be disappointed of their comfortable meal; for when, after pa.s.sing Feuillancourt, Rancourt, and Sailly, they approached the gates of the monastery, and rang the great bell, no one responded to the summons for some time. As they sat upon their horses waiting for admission, the sight of a neighbouring barn burnt to the ground, and still smoking, showed them that some party of pillagers had pa.s.sed that morning; and they began to think that the monastery was deserted, which was certainly the case with the little village itself. The sound of voices within, however, at length induced them to make another application to the bell; and, after a short pause, a monk's head appeared at the window over the gate, exclaiming, "Get you gone, brothers, get you gone. You cannot enter here."

The leader of the troop remonstrated, and announced his name as Isambert of Agincourt; but the reply was still the same, the monk adding, by way of explanation, "We have suffered too much from you all already this morning. We will open our gates to none, and we have cross-bow men within, who will shoot if you do not retire. Do you not see the barns burning?"

"But that was done by the savage Englishmen," replied Isambert; "we are friends. We are men of Burgundy."

"So were these," answered the monk; "but the Duke and the English understand each other; for that sacrilegious villain, Robinet de Bournonville, had Englishmen with him. Get you gone, I will hear no more; and if you do not go, the men shall shoot."

The sight of several men upon the wall, with cross-bows in their hands, gave effect to the old man's words; and Isambert withdrew slowly, muttering curses at his friend, Robinet de Bournonville, for depriving him of his dinner. When he reached the bottom of the next slope, he halted to consult his companions and Richard of Woodville, as to what was to be done to procure food for themselves and for their horses; and he finally determined to return to Sailly, where a good hostel had been observed as they pa.s.sed.

But Richard of Woodville took this opportunity of separating himself from the rest of the party, and announced his intention to Isambert of Agincourt, who seemed by no means sorry to get rid of him. The clerk's man and his own page were the only companions whom the young gentleman expected to go with him; and he was not a little surprised when the two novices drew aside from the ladies of Cambray, and the taller of the two begged that he would have the kindness to give them the benefit of his escort as far as Hesdin, saying, "We were on our way to Amiens, and thence to Montreuil, and not to Arras, whither, it seems now, this n.o.ble gentleman is bending his steps."

One of the Canonesses interposed a remonstrance, representing the danger of falling in with some party of English troops; but she did not venture to use a tone of authority, as the novices belonged to another Order; and the young lady who had already spoken, replied briefly, in a resolute and somewhat haughty tone, "that she had no fear, and, knowing what it was her duty to do, should do it."

"Well, settle the matter as you please, fair ladies," cried Isambert of Agincourt; "only be quick, for I have no time to lose;" and no farther opposition being made, Richard of Woodville undertook to protect, as far as he could, the two novices on the way, only warning them in general terms, that as soon as he discovered the exact position of the armies, he must join them; promising, however, to send on his page and the man with them to Hesdin. This being understood, he took leave of the commander of the men-at-arms; and choosing the first road to the left, under the direction of the clerk's man, who seemed thoroughly acquainted with the whole country, he proceeded for some way at a quick pace, till they reached a village, which seemed to have escaped the predatory propensities of the soldiery on both parts, and there paused to feed his horses, and to procure some refreshment for himself and his companions.

Though he had tried to entertain the two young ladies to the best of his power as they rode along, either their notions of propriety, or some anxiety in regard to their situation, rendered them cold and taciturn in their communications; and, unlike the gay Canonesses from whom they had just parted, they neither seemed inclined to converse with the knight or with each other, nor ever raised their veils to take a coquettish look at the country through which they pa.s.sed. They now refused refreshment, also, saying, "It is not our habit to eat with men;" and as the house, at which they had bought some bread and mead, had but one public room, Richard of Woodville, with his two male companions, retired to the door while the horses fed, and left the shy novices to partake of what was set upon the table if they thought fit.

While there, the young knight entered into conversation with the good peasant who supplied them, and, though the jargon which the man spoke was scarcely intelligible, made out, that the English army had marched from Acheux on the preceding day, and had encamped the night before amongst the villages near the source of the Canche. Of the movements of the French army he could learn nothing, however, which led him to a false belief, that he was likely to meet with no interruption from the enemy in following the march of his own sovereign.